Relating through Dreams: Names, Genes and Shared Substance

Abstract

In the late 1990s, Iceland became known worldwide for the development of a national genetic database. Articles in international newspapers addressed the issue of how a whole nation could agree upon selling their genetic material for medical research. Within the field of social anthropology, the concern is that such initiatives are a sign of the “geneticization” of society, leaving little room for what is designated as a socially constructed relatedness. An analysis of dreams, dreamt and shared by Icelanders, offers a different picture. Focusing on the important role of dreams for naming Icelandic children, this article seeks to demonstrate that even in a society such as Iceland, which is considered to be highly “genetic oriented”, practices that highlight non‐genetic relationships between people are significant.

Keywords:

• Relatedness
• Dreams
• Naming
• New Genetics
• Iceland

Notes

[1] My sincere thanks go to all the Icelandic people who have shared their thoughts and experiences with me, Guðlaug Björnsdóttir for assisting me with collecting data, Terry Gunnell (University of Iceland) for sharing with me the results of the survey of the Social Science Research Institute on Icelandic folk belief and religious ideas, and Nils Bubandt and Anne Line Dalsgård for commenting on my article. I am grateful to the Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNÍS), The Árni Magnússon Institute, Foundation Idella, Danish–Icelandic Foundation, and Andreassen and Hougaards Almene Fond, for funding my research.

[2] þþ refers to the numbering of the responses to the questionnaires sent out by the Ethnological Department of the National Museum of Iceland (þjóðminjasafnið)

[3] Lög um mannanöfn: http://www.althingi.is/lagasofn/nuna/1996045.html

[4] http://www.rettarheimild.is/mannanofn

[5] http://www.rettarheimild.is/mannanofn